Honoured Enemy

Raymond E. Feist & William Forstchen

Average Rating 7/10 (1 Review)

Freedom at any price?

Hartraft's Marauders, a crack band of Kingdom raiders, are a special unit designed to infiltrate and fight behind enemy lines. They are currently heading for a frontier garrison, after a disastrous encounter with the Tsurani.

Meanwhile, a Tsurani patrol is sent to support an assault on the same garrison. Both sides arrive at the same time and discover the garrison has been overrun by a migrating horde of moredhel (dark elves) and they are forced by circumstance to band together and fight as one to survive.

The only problem is, who do they hate the most - their mutual enemy, or each other? As they make their way across the unknown Northlands to freedom, they have to struggle not only with the elements and their enemies, but also their conscience. For what is more important - ones life or ones honour?

Review by Chrissi (010901) Rating (7/10)

Review by Chrissi
Rating 7/10
A collaboration between Feist and a gentleman whose books I have never read brings a new twist to the great Riftwar conflict. I know that it is impossible for anyone to collaborate without affecting that of which they write, but whereas Janny Wurtz brought a feminine touch to the Empire series, Mr. Forstchen brings a more martial element to this story.

In the Riftwar novels, the stories are normally told from either one side or the other, but the closure of the rift, causing Tsurani warriors to be trapped on Midkemia, allows for the exploration of the relationship between men who have been enemies.

The problem is that of the dark brotherhood, the Moredhel, before the fake Murmandamus rise to power, massing in the Northern lands, fighting against both the Empire and the Kingdom. The Kingdom forces involved are Hartraft's Marauders, led by Dennis, and Tsurani forces led by Asayaga, of the Kodeko, one of the families of the Kanazawai clan. The Moredhel are picking off the survivors of the skirmishes between the Empire and the kingdom troops.

Dennis Hartraft and his marauders are a crack Kingdom unit fighting behind the lines of the advancing Empire army. The winter is approaching and they are trying to get back for fresh supplies and some well-deserved rest and recuperation. Unfortunately on their way back they arrive at a small border fort, which appears to have been overrun by the Tsurani, but all is not what it appears to be and they realise that it is a trap.

A Tsurani unit unfortunately does not spot the trap and they find themselves fighting a battle against both the Moredhel and the Kingdom troops. The dark elves herd the invaders towards the Marauders, thinking that they will fight and they can then mop up the stragglers.
The two sworn enemies find themselves face to face and a split second decision leads to the officers agreeing to escape and fight the moredhel then each other. This leads to the two units having to escape in tandem, leading to an uneasy alliance.

The alliance is forced to endure for longer than either group expected due to unforeseen circumstances. The tensions mount and it is the relationship between the two leaders which develops the story, that of the personal honour and the enmity between the two of them in the face of a common enemy.

You know my liking for the Feist Riftwar stories, and this is no exception, even though it is set back at the beginning of the war, with no familiar characters, there is enough to endear these new characters to the reader. I think that there is scope here to develop further stories although the authors have to be careful not to overdo it. There is a very real danger that nothing new could happen in a story and they could get stale which would spoil it for readers.
Chrissi (1st September 2001)